The Private Sector as a Catalyst for Health Equity and a Vibrant Economy: Proceedings of a Workshop by unknow

Author:unknow
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Health and Medicine: Healthcare and Quality, Health and Medicine: Policy, Reviews and Evaluations
Publisher: The National Academies Press
Published: 2016-08-24T00:00:00+00:00

PARKS AFTER DARK: TRANSFORMING COMMUNITIES

Parks After Dark is a program that uses Los Angeles parks to prevent violence, transform communities, and promote health equity. In 2011, Los Angeles County had 611 homicides, approximately 37 percent of which were gang related. Parks After Dark started in 2010 as part of Los Angeles County’s Gang Violence Reduction Initiative. “Over the years we saw the program grow,” said Kelly Fischer, staff analyst for the Injury and Violence Prevention Program at the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, adding “We saw how it had the potential to improve health, chronic disease, and mental health, as well as build community trust through cross-sector collaboration, and give the government an opportunity to interact with the community in a more positive way.” In its fourth year, the program includes nine parks and in 2014 received an award from The California Endowment for advancing health equity.

Parks and Recreation Director Russ Guiney and CEO William Fujioka conceived of Parks After Dark after the success of Summer Night Lights, a program that kept 32 Los Angeles parks open late during the summers. Other community-based organizations have used similar models, but Parks After Dark has “a real opportunity to sustain and expand in local government and probably in private business,” said Fischer. The program was originally funded through a community transformation grant by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. When Congress cut the budget, the program’s success prompted board supervisors to make an unprecedented decision to fund it out of the county budget on an ongoing basis.

The Parks After Dark model is simple, said Fischer—the summer evening hours at parks are extended on the weekends, and varied programs are offered to community members. The program focuses on areas of high crime during times when youths have less social and recreational opportunities because schools are closed. While the program was initially conceived as a violence-prevention strategy, it has grown into a model for health promotion. Programming includes organized sports like basketball, baseball, soccer, golf and tennis lessons, martial arts, dance classes, Zumba, bike rides, and access to community pools and gym facilities. Parks After Dark offers classes on topics from healthy cooking to computer skills. Free concerts, movies, and talent shows provide evening entertainment, and resource fairs connect community members with health and wellness, economic, legal, and social services.

The Parks Department leads the program with support from the Public Health Department. Deputies patrol the parks during the evening hours but also engage in activities with community members. Each year at Roosevelt Park in South Los Angeles, for example, the deputies organize a basketball tournament with the teens. The first 3 years, the teens easily beat the deputies, so the fourth year the deputies decided to have a kickball tournament to try to even the playing field. Through such efforts, the tournaments offer a bonding opportunity for all participants. Although Parks After Dark is a summer program, park staff are able to build lasting relationships with the community, community organizations, and government agencies.

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